Figure 1.

Examples of heat shock protein (HSP)-specific helper T cells type 1 (Th1) cell measurements for control and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) subjects. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness profile and quadrant thickness of the right eye from a control subject (A) and patient with POAG (B) are shown. The average RNFL thickness of both eyes for the control was 105 μm. The average RNFL thickness of both eyes was 70 μm for the patient with POAG and 68 μm for the inferior quadrants. On the Humphrey visual field (VF), the POAG eye shows a superior paracentral defect (C). The average VF mean deviation was -6.12 dB for both eyes of the patient with POAG. Flow cytometry plots for quantifying HSP27 specific Th1 cells (D-G) and α-crystallin–specific Th1 cells (H-K) in the peripheral blood of the control subject and patient with POAG are shown, respectively. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated by HSP27 or α-crystallin in culture, double-immunolabeled for CD4 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and assayed by flow cytometry. Isotype (Iso) reveals the background control staining in the absence of primary antibody (E, G, I, and K) for the corresponding plot shown to its left (D, F, H, and J, respectively). The percentages of Th1 cells (CD4+IFN-γ+) specific for HSP27 and for α-crystallin are obtained by subtracting the values displayed in the upper right box (Q2) of the Iso plots from the values displayed in the upper right box of the corresponding flow cytometry dot plots (highlighted in red). Therefore, for the control subject, the HSP27-specific Th1 cell frequency was 2.36%, and α-crystallin–specific Th1 cell frequency was 1.56%. For the patient with POAG, the counts were 11.55% and 13.08%, respectively.